table to him as a mark of royal goodness which might be beneficial
to those who were dearest to him. The hint was taken. The same Gazette
which announced the retirement of the Secretary of State announced also
that, in consideration of his great public services, his wife had been
created a peeress in her own right, and that a pension of three thousand
pounds a year, for three lives, had been bestowed on himself. It was
doubtless thought that the rewards and honors conferred on the great
minister would have a conciliatory effect on the public mind. Perhaps,
too, it was thought that his popularity, which had partly arisen from
the contempt which he had always shown for money, would be damaged by a
pension; and, indeed, a crowd of libels instantly appeared, in which he
was accused of having sold his country. Many of his true friends thought
that he would have best consulted the dignity of his character by
refusing to accept any pecuniary reward from the court. Nevertheless,
the general opinion of his talents, virtues, and services, remained
unaltered. Addresses were presented to him from several large towns.
London showed its admiration and affection in a still more marked
manner. Soon after his resignation came the Lord Mayor's day. The King
and the royal family dined at Guildhall. Pitt was one of the guests. The
young Sovereign, seated by his bride in his state coach, received a
remarkable lesson. He was scarcely noticed. All eyes were fixed on the
fallen minister; all acclamations directed to him. The streets, the
balconies, the chimney tops, burst into a roar of delight as his chariot
passed by. The ladies waved their handkerchief's from the windows. The
common people clung to the wheels, shook hands with the footmen, and
even kissed the horses. Cries of "No Bute!" "No Newcastle salmon!" were
mingled with the shouts of "Pitt forever!" When Pitt entered Guildhall,
he was welcomed by loud huzzas and clapping of hands, in which the very
magistrates of the city joined. Lord Bute, in the meantime, was hooted
and pelted through Cheapside, and would, it was thought, have been in
some danger, if he had not taken the precaution of surrounding his
carriage with a strong bodyguard of boxers. Many persons blamed the
conduct of Pitt on this occasion as disrespectful to the King. Indeed,
Pitt himself afterwards owned that he had done wrong. He was led into
this error, as he was afterwards led into more serious errors, by the
influence